Vividly reminiscent of the goings-on at Sterling Cooper—the late nights, the three-martini lunches, the sex on couches, and, of course, the actual work of plugging products—this is the story of what Madison Avenue was really like in the ’60s. A worldwide bestseller when first published in 1970, this frank, irreverent, and hilarious memoir is a one-of-a-kind cult classic.
From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harb
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Brilliant. . .Best enjoyed after a three-martini lunch.” –GQ (UK)
“When there was some debate about whether something was accurate or not, Jerry said 'You're not even close. It was so much worse than what you're seeing on the show.'"
“When there was some debate about whether something was accurate or not, Jerry said 'You're not even close. It was so much worse than what you're seeing on the show.'"
--Matthew Weiner, creator and executive producer of Mad Men (GQ)
“Reads like the transcript of a tape made at a bar or cocktail party with the recorder propped up next to the raconteur at the center of the crowd.” –Salon
“The 'Mad Men' of this book were not mad at all. They were clever and articulate proponents of the American Dream. The book evokes a long-lost era of American self-confidence and optimism, and helps explain how America became a cultural icon.”
—Maurice Saatchi, co-founder of Saatchi & Saatchi and M&C Saatchi
About the Author
Jerry Della Femina has worked in the advertising industry for over fifty years. He currently runs Della Femina Rothschild Jeary and Partners in New York. He was an adviser on the first season of the hit television show Mad Men. Charles Sopkin (d. 1994) was an author, book editor, and publisher. He graduated from Emory University and earned his master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. A former managing editor for Doubleday and the owner of Seaview Books, his books include Seven Glorious Days, Seven Fun-Filled Nights and Money Talks! A veteran of stage and screen, Peter Berkrot's career spans four decades. Highlights include feature roles in Caddyshack and Showtime's Brotherhood, and appearances on America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries. His voice can be heard on television, radio, video games, documentaries and industrials. He is a prominent acting coach and a regular contributor to the award-winning news program Frontline produced by WGBH in Boston. Peter served as director of narration for the Emmy-nominated The Truth About Cancer. Peter has recorded a number of audiobooks, including three by Peter Hessler: Country Driving, Oracle Bones, and River Town. Other favorite titles include The Woods by Harlan Coben, English, August by Upamanyu Chatterjee, The Fifth Vial by Michael Palmer, American Brutus by Michael W. Kauffmann, Better by Atul Gawande, and Some Sort of Epic Grandeur by Matthew J. Bruccoli.
--This text refers to the
Audio CD
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Work in advertising? See how little it's changed in the last 35 or 40 years by reading this snarky and cutting look inside the biz. Learn about the pioneering admen (and women, though precious few in those days) who got the account for the first feminine hygiene deodorant spray! Thrill to stories of the first efforts to market Japanese products when everybody KNEW nothing good came from there. Japanese cars?? HA!!
So times have changed a little. But the business remains the same (i.e., utterly absurd), as these backstage stories show.
So times have changed a little. But the business remains the same (i.e., utterly absurd), as these backstage stories show.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This was a fun read for someone who remembers ads that were popular 40 years ago. (This is the 40th anniversary reissue of Mr. Della Femina's book.) I suspect, however, that younger readers will never have heard of Braniff Airways, much less its pastel colored airplanes. The same would be true for many, if not most, of the other examples described in the book. It was instructive to read Mr. Della Femina's amazement at annual salaries that wouldn't attract a mailroom clerk four decades later.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Jerry Della Femina's now forty year-old book has been appropriately resurrected with the success of Mad Men. In fact, it is now a text book case of co-branding. Clearly, the original book was fodder for Matthew Weiner's superlative series and, as a result, is now leveraging the television drama on its re-released cover along with an endorsement from Mr. Weiner (the cover art now emulates Mad Men's opening sequence).
Della Femina would be a guy you would want to sit next to on a stool at the Oyster Bar. He would regal you with raunchy stories of Madison Avenue and if you listen carefully enough, you may learn something about advertising. Buried within the stories of drinking, toking, cheating, and playing politics are a few good bon mots like:
"There is no such thing as a bad client. But there is such a thing as bad advertising."
"Most account guys live with fear in their hearts."
"Creative people do not have a business sense about themselves."
"There is a great deal of advertising that is much better than the product. When that happens, all that good advertising will do is put you out of business."
Throughout the book there is high praise for Bill Bernbach and his agency, DDB. In fact, he sites the Volkswagen campaign as the industry game-changer and the people from DDB as the successful archetype for the industry as a whole. A beneficial section is on presenting and pitching where Della Femina accurately likens it to theater.
In terms of the Mad Men antics, he summarizes the industry with: "Crazy? Yes. Romantic and glamorous? Not one bit. The wild stuff, I'm afraid, is very much overrated." Which is true in Mad Men when we see agencies and individuals sow the seeds of their own destruction week to week.
The book works extremely well as a time capsule but is not a "how-to" (nor is it meant to be). But if you are looking for both great ad industry stories and how to be successful within it, I suggest: "Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Advertising" by Luke Sullivan. But be extremely careful when you read anything on advertising because it has been written by advertisers. As Della Femina cautions, "Part of this business - a big part of it - is illusion."
Della Femina would be a guy you would want to sit next to on a stool at the Oyster Bar. He would regal you with raunchy stories of Madison Avenue and if you listen carefully enough, you may learn something about advertising. Buried within the stories of drinking, toking, cheating, and playing politics are a few good bon mots like:
"There is no such thing as a bad client. But there is such a thing as bad advertising."
"Most account guys live with fear in their hearts."
"Creative people do not have a business sense about themselves."
"There is a great deal of advertising that is much better than the product. When that happens, all that good advertising will do is put you out of business."
Throughout the book there is high praise for Bill Bernbach and his agency, DDB. In fact, he sites the Volkswagen campaign as the industry game-changer and the people from DDB as the successful archetype for the industry as a whole. A beneficial section is on presenting and pitching where Della Femina accurately likens it to theater.
In terms of the Mad Men antics, he summarizes the industry with: "Crazy? Yes. Romantic and glamorous? Not one bit. The wild stuff, I'm afraid, is very much overrated." Which is true in Mad Men when we see agencies and individuals sow the seeds of their own destruction week to week.
The book works extremely well as a time capsule but is not a "how-to" (nor is it meant to be). But if you are looking for both great ad industry stories and how to be successful within it, I suggest: "Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Advertising" by Luke Sullivan. But be extremely careful when you read anything on advertising because it has been written by advertisers. As Della Femina cautions, "Part of this business - a big part of it - is illusion."
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Everybody's heard of it, nobody's read it. Don't be that guy. Read it.
There are a lot of controversial people in advertising. Ogilvy because of his "rules". Hopkins because of his anti-intellectualism. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Them
5.0 out of 5 stars
From those wonderful folks who gave you pearl harbor
I have not received this book yet. It is the only ordered book that I have not received. Please check on it, and have it mailed.
Published 10 months ago by joe allardt
1.0 out of 5 stars
Outdated, Pompous and Almost Unreadable
This 2010 "version" of a 1970 bestseller is merely a reissue of something that may have been relevant at one point but is hopelessly outdated, written by a pompous jerk who loves... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mediaman
4.0 out of 5 stars
enjoyable
Most interesting and informative about a highly competitive business. Well written by one of the kings of advertising. Jerry Della Femina is a true pro.
Published 14 months ago by t bear
1.0 out of 5 stars
More expensive on the Kindle than in hardcopy
I wanted to buy it, to read on my Kindle Fire. But it appears that it is 3x more expensive in Kindle form than in paperback form. What's up with that Amazon???
Published 16 months ago by M. Formica
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Bunch of Laughs
I bought this book when if first came out by mistake, thinking it was about World War Two. Boy, was I surprised. I've never laughed so hard in my life. I lost the book in a move. Read more
Published 18 months ago by AshannaK
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book never gets old
I have recommended this book to every young creative person I have ever worked with or mentored. Sadly most of them were unable to read it as it was long out of print. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Stanley Johnson
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's a pleasure
A highly entertaining book providing insight on what it was like and the people caught up in the world of advertising Mad Men style. Read more
Published 20 months ago by sandra
4.0 out of 5 stars
From those wonderful folks who gave you pearl harbor
A witty trip down the rabbit hole of 1960's Madison Avenue advertising agencies. Jerry Della Femina's book tells about the almost unbelievable weirdness of the men in the grey... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Stephen I. Bricker
5.0 out of 5 stars
Couldn't be happier
I read this book over 30 years ago. I loved it then and I loved it this time. This edition is a reprint of the original. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Tweed Scott
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